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Seaside council reviews draft strategic goals; communication, code updates prioritized
Summary
At a council work session, Seaside city leaders reviewed a consultant draft of strategic goals, prioritizing a resident communication strategy, a schedule for updating outdated ordinances and boards/commissions, and a two‑year work cadence tied to the comprehensive plan and zoning update.
Seaside City Council members spent a work session reviewing a draft set of strategic goals prepared by consultants and edited by staff and the mayor, focusing first on community engagement, code modernization and land‑use planning.
Councilors said the draft should emphasize a broad resident communication strategy rather than simply launching a newsletter. “I think it's more than a city newsletter,” a councilor observed, adding that the city should ask residents how they want to be reached before locking in a format. Staff said the intent is to create a baseline resident satisfaction survey so the council can measure progress over time.
The draft groups goals under areas of focus, priorities and indicators of success. On land use and municipal code work, councilors proposed separating the comprehensive plan and zoning rewrite from a broader ordinance cleanup. Staff and councilors agreed the comprehensive plan will inform any new zoning ordinance; several members said other non‑zoning codes — signage, boards/commissions, charter housekeeping — also need attention and can be on separate tracks.
Council discussion produced these practical directions: prioritize updating boards, commissions and committees first; develop a recurring schedule for regular ordinance review so code updates do not pile up; and create a practical prioritization and calendar for the remainder of code chapters. Councilors noted the city has roughly 50+ chapters to review and favored a two‑year horizon with quarterly check‑ins but recognized the workload will require phased tracks and, potentially, contracted help. “We need to come up with a plan and a prioritization of what order we want to get stuff done in,” one councilor said.
Infrastructure, resiliency and parks also appeared on the draft goals. The council discussed developing a plan for a vertical evacuation structure and whether such a facility would be standalone or combined with a parking garage, and it asked staff to identify clear milestones and funding pathways. On parks and recreation the draft proposes concept or construction plans for North 40 Park, Estuary Park improvements, and at least one park project to begin construction within the planning horizon.
Council members repeatedly emphasized flexibility: the draft is a working document to be edited, prioritized and returned to consultants for finalization after the council provides direction. Staff said individual items could be accelerated if the council agreed to a different cadence, and that indicators of success should be revisable as more detailed plans are completed.
